


Those Are My Kids, Don't Stare

by PenguinKiwis



Series: Jee's (mis)adventures with the Wani and Crew [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (minor bc Jee does the protecting), Blood and Injury, But only for Zhao, Confused Zuko (Avatar), Creepy Zhao (Avatar), Family Fluff, Good, Jee (Avatar) is a Tired Dad, Jee (Avatar) is the Team Dad, Protective Iroh (Avatar), Protective Jee (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar) Is An Asshole, Zhao (Avatar) gets punched!, headcanons for the Crew and Jee, no beta we die like Lu Ten apparently, sorta - Freeform, swearing because Jee hates Zhao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27164725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenguinKiwis/pseuds/PenguinKiwis
Summary: Jee really wants to punch something. Specifically, something that was alive, middle-aged, a total creep, sporting horrible sideburns, and had a favorite hobby of antagonizing the crew onboard the Wani.Aka: Let Jee Punch Zhao 2020
Relationships: Iroh & Jee & Zuko, Iroh & Jee (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko's Crew (Avatar), Jee & Zuko (Avatar), Jee & Zuko's Crew (Avatar), Zhao & Iroh (Avatar), Zhao & Jee (Avatar), Zhao & Zuko (Avatar), Zuko & Zuko's Crew (Avatar)
Series: Jee's (mis)adventures with the Wani and Crew [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982783
Comments: 19
Kudos: 332





	Those Are My Kids, Don't Stare

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanons because I LOVE JEE?? HE DESERVES MORE. best character arc in the fire nation and it took one episode.
> 
> Edit: fixed a few spelling errors bc im dumb

Lieutenant Jee had hated Zhao long before he had been asked by General Iroh to board the _Wani_ as its captain.

He was a couple years Zhao’s senior and knew the man’s ruthlessness first hand from their time together in the same naval regiment. Jee had been of higher rank back then, but of course, now Zhao was an admiral (he really didn’t deserve the title, in his opinion) and he was a Lieutenant who was only instated as one because Iroh needed a real officer onboard the _Wani_. The entire Crew was been pulled together by Iroh, approved by Ozai (he didn’t look twice when Iroh proposed a group of discharged soldiers) so none of them technically bore their ranks anymore. Iroh had officially re-instated Jee with his new rank, stating that he couldn’t put him back at his former rank of Captain officially. Goh had been cheeky and somehow convinced the crew (and the Prince, somehow) to start calling him ‘Captain’ anyways.

Cheeky brat.

Nonetheless, the bottom line was that Jee hated Zhao. Just as, if not more than, Prince Zuko.

So of course, the best way to make sure that Jee _didn’t_ end up punching the shit out of Zhao was to make sure he was as far from him as possible whenever the Koala-pine-looking man decided to show up out of nowhere.

(Jee’s sideburns were bad, Pikemaster Maki would snark, but Zhao’s were worse. Only because it was Zhao. She was also a brat. But the crew were all his brats and if his brats were in agreement that Zhao was the worst then he would let it slide.) 

Normally, Jee would be at the helm with Mitsuhide and Renshu (Mitsuhide because he was the Navigator, Renshu because the doctor had too much time on his hands), _but_ , for some reason, he had been pulled from his "Zhao Free Zone" down to join General Iroh and Prince Zuko on deck to talk with Zhao.

It took all his willpower to stand still with his arms clasped behind his back in the meanwhile. He had to keep his body still, because Zhao figured out his body language a long time ago and knew how to ready his armor’s creaks and clinks— he thinks, anyways. Maybe the stupid Koala-pine-looking bastard was just good at reading people or bluffing.

(or maybe he just knew that he pissed everyone off. Jee suspected this one the most. Helmsman Fai would joke that Zhao just reacted that way to everything. Smug and being an overall dick. Fai was a former pirate. How he got onto the ship, Jee didn’t know, but he did praise the lad for teaching Prince Zuko as many swears as a thirteen-year-old could the first year.)

Jee shifted a bit, giving Iroh a side glance, which was met by the shorter man— as if he had been waiting for him to do so. 

He shifted again _(‘I have no idea what Zhao just said.’)_ and Iroh glanced forwards again.

_(‘Nothing of major importance. Antagonizing Prince Zuko.’)_

So nothing important at all, then. 

Jee turned forwards again. He, Iroh, Renshu, Jin, and Mitsuhide were the oldest of the crew— not counting the stupid Rabbitmouse that Goh had brought onboard because Maki swears that it is the most ancient thing ever— and were well versed in reading the others’ silent language. It helped for sure that Iroh and Jee had been friends since the war (though Jee had been discharged before Prince Lu Ten’s death and the retreat from Ba Sing Se) and Mitsuhide and Jin were just easier to get along with than the youngsters running amok. Patience was not any of those children's best virtues.

That said, the only comfort from that fact that Jee had was that he could tell that Iroh was suffering just as much as he was. Jee would say that he was suffering more, though.

He hated Zhao outright.

Iroh always gave people the benefit of the doubt when he could.

Jee was so close to just punching Zhao— if only to make him shut up. From the corners of his eyes, he could see a few other crewmates lingering— Tatsuko was pretending to be cleaning her sword, Goh was just outright watching from where he was sitting on the deck, Fai was restringing his bow and checking his arrows not too far from the two. Eun was farther away, grooming the hawks, but she was certainly listening.

Good. 

If anything went wrong, then they could at least create an excuse to get the Prince below deck before his temper got the best of him.

In hindsight, Jee would laugh at the thought.

It wasn’t Prince Zuko who needed to be watched, it turned out.

Jee wasn’t exactly sure what it was, or how it was, that Zhao got onto the topic, but in the middle of Jee zoning out, he managed to catch a few words that the _admiral_ was saying.

“— though, it’s amazing that you managed to wrangle such _women_ on board, General Iroh,” the Admiral said loftily and Jee’s attention snapped back to the conversation.

Women?

The _Wani_ didn’t have _women_ on board like Zhao was saying.

They had Maki, who can and would take the head off of anyone who insulted her with her spear. They had Kaho, who could produce a jet of white-hot flames, if only to solder the pipes together. They had Tatsuko who kept climbing overboard to see if she could catch fish using her sword. And they had Eun who took care of the hawks to the point where she just had to whistle once and then gesture to get them to attack— messenger hawks were not meant to attack the soldiers or people but they sure as hell would if she told them too.

So no. The _Wani_ didn’t have women. They had four strong, wild-willed, young adults who could beat the shit out of any man on board without the need for bending. 

(If Kaho can throw a wrench and brake pipes with them, she sure as hell could hold her own without a formal weapon.)

Jee’s full attention was on Zhao now, and he could tell that Iroh was as tense as he could be as he listened to the other man go on and on about how their _women_ were quite amazing and, “it really is such a feat that they’re so well behaved with such a wild Prince as their commander. Really, I commend you and your crew for disciplining them. Imagine, a hawker—“

What.

_What._

Was Zhao insinuating what he thought he was? Surely not.

“— In fact, since our ships are both heading to the same port, I might just request that one of them join me on board for the remainder of the way.”

Oh, he _fucking was_.

Prince Zuko seemed too confused on what was being suggested, and Iroh was struggling to keep the facade of the “Kind old General”.

He heard the sound of Tatsuko’s whetstone stop and the hawk in Eun’s arms take off. 

“Pardon?” Iroh grit out and Zhao had the audacity to give him a polite smile. 

“I assure you, no harm will become of the woman,” he told Iroh, as if that was the main problem. Not that he was asking for a woman who was at best twenty years his junior to accompany him to bed. Zhao's eyes drifted from Iroh, Jee, and Zuko over to where Eun and Tatsuko were behind the three of them.

It was the change in gaze that finally made Jee snap. From an observant gaze to an outright leer.

His body moved before he even realized what was happening.

Zhao was… strong. He was a good firebender,— better than Jee— but Jee had always been stronger physically.

Front foot planted firmly, body twisted, and there was a satisfying crunch under Jee’s fist as he sent Zhao to the ground.

Everything on deck seemed to freeze as Zhao stumbled back in shock, hand moving up to protect his face as blood dripped from his nose. Jee flicked his wrist, cleaning it from his fist, panting just slightly as he readjusted his stance— standing between Zhao and the rest of the Crew, between Zhao and _his kids._

“Leer at my kids one more time and we’ll be reliving the fight we had twenty years ago, Admiral,” he spat, “If I recall, you lost quite badly then. You’ll lose here again.”

Zhao’s glare could _kill_ if firebending worked through the eyes. It didn't, and Jee just glared back.

“You bastard!” Zhao howled but he ignored the shouting, turning instead to the soldiers at the Admiral’s side.

“Get him off my ship and tell him that if he wants to leer at women, he needs to do it elsewhere,” he snapped, mustering up his former “Captain’s Orders, now” voice. 

Pity that Zhao was an admiral though, he officially outranked him and Jee just hoped that Iroh still had enough pull to not allow him to get executed— Zhao seemed to get off on those.

Luckily, the soldiers had more common sense than their commander, grabbing the still shouting commander and hauling him across the gangplank. Jee waited until it was pulled away from the _Wani_ before he turned. 

“Mitsuhide! Set course for a different port,” he barked up to the deckhouse. “Fai, you’re on helm.”

The ex-pirate saluted, flipping off of the railing around the deckhouse and walking back into the deckhouse as Iroh walked up to Jee. The two were silent as they watched Zhao’s ship depart before Iroh handed him a handkerchief.

He took it, wiping the rest of the blood from his knuckles. “I suppose we should have the girls stay below deck whenever his greatness admiral Zhao shows up again,” Jee said dryly, folding the handkerchief before setting it ablaze.

Iroh nodded mutely, still gazing out at the water. “Your temper always did flare up around Zhao,” he decided to say at last, stroking his beard. Jee snorted.

“He starts it,” he said dully. “He should know not to leer at my crew like some sort of third-rate criminal.”

“And the consequences?” 

Jee snorted, turning back to walk back up to the deckhouse. “If Zhao wants to take revenge, he’ll have to challenge me to an Agni Kai— one he knows he won’t win. Bastard never remembers that I’m the stronger one. Besides, he can try and foist it off on the Prince, but his pride won't let him.”

He waved over his shoulder dismissively as he walked past Zuko, who was still somewhere between confusion and shock. 

“Oh, that’s right.” Jee paused as he got to the stairwell leading up to the deckhouse. He glanced back at Zuko. “Prince Zuko, let that be a lesson to you. Never objectify a lass, you'll end up like _Admiral_ Zhao.”

He turned back, walking up the stairs without waiting for a response.

Tatsuko leaped out at him when he got to the top, grinning while Iroh and Zuko talked on the deck.

“Soooo,” she started, trailing after him as he walked into the deckhouse. “‘Kids’?” 

Shit.

Jee had said that out loud, didn’t he?

He sighed, running a hand down his face as the dark-haired young woman just continued to grin. Fai was grinning too, and Mitsuhide had turned away to hide his grin.

Tatsuko just took his sigh as a ‘yes’ as she bounced out. “See you at dinner, papa Jee!” she called over her shoulder. 

Jee let out another long sigh.

“You’re grounded, Tatsuko!” he called back before he moved to sit across from Mitsuhide.

He only got laughter from the young swordswoman back.

**Author's Note:**

> Jee radiates Dad Energy™ and I made myself sad by adding names and faces to the Wani Crew.
> 
> Notes:
> 
> Zhao is at best "middle-aged" from what I found, so I'm putting him at like. Fifty-five when he first shows up in canon— so he's fifty-three here. Iroh is sixty and Jee is fifty-nine. (In my other fic, Jee notes that he's approaching his mid-sixties and Iroh is somewhere between 55 and 63 in canon apparently).
> 
> Anyways, that makes Eun— who is the oldest of the ladies onboard— in her thirties. Kaho and Maki are both in their mid-twenties while Tatsuko is in her early twenties. 
> 
> TL;DR: Zhao is a fucking creep


End file.
